Banana Bran Muffins

This is a recipe I used to make a lot five years ago, when we lived in Del Ray after graduating college.  It was our first place where Mr. Bread Maiden and I lived together.  We got engaged and married while we lived in that townhouse on Nelson Avenue.  We also realized we never wanted to live with roommates again!

Sorry, where was I?  Oh, yes.  Banana bran muffins.

These muffins are super easy and healthy.  I don't like things to be too sweet, so you can add more sugar than the recipe calls for.  Me? I like to slather them with peanut butter for a healthy (and filling) breakfast.

What you need:

1 cup wheat bran flakes
1 cup mashed banana (I learned a neat trick making these this time: you can take underripe bananas, freeze them, then when you thaw them the insides are all mushy.  I found two bananas makes about a cup)
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
raisins (this time I used currants)

I took a picture with the baking soda, then realized there's no baking soda called for in the recipe.  Sorry.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  You will want to butter a muffin tin right now as well.  In a large bowl, mix the bran, the bananas, and the milk.  Let the mixture sit for five minutes.

2. Add the brown sugar, oil, and egg to the bran mixture.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
 

Add the dry ingredients to the bran mixture, and mix just enough to combine. 

Throw in as many raisins or currants as makes you happy.

4.  Scoop into the muffin tin, and bake for 30-50 minutes until the muffins are golden brown.

Sorry the time is so variable; the recipe I have calls for 20 minutes of baking, and when I took them out they were nowhere near done.  So I kept setting the timer for 2 and 3 minutes each time until they were finally done.  They will set and be golden brown, just be patient!

Little Bread Toddler loves these muffins too.  Here I am trying to get a close-up of the inside of the muffin.

Verdict: these are really, really easy to make, and healthy to boot!  This is a recipe that I'm going to have to bring back into my baking repertoire.